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Judge frustrated by lack of dangerous offender designation for violent criminal

Justice Bychok issues ruling after voicing concerns over SA国际影视传媒渢icking time bomb with a short fuseSA国际影视传媒
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SA国际影视传媒淗e ought to be declared to be a dangerous offender subject to indeterminate incarceration,SA国际影视传媒 writes Justice Paul Bychok in his Feb. 12 ruling. SA国际影视传媒淣evertheless, my hands are tied. The law says that I must implement the joint recommendation despite my grave concerns.SA国际影视传媒 NNSL file photo

A 45-year-old man from Pangnirtung with a lengthy history of violent crimes was literally frothing at the mouth, resisting vigorously, yelling, and screaming obscenities during his sentencing hearing in February.

Yet he will not be deemed a dangerous offender, much to the chagrin of the judge.

A three-part ruling in the Timothy Komoartok court case was delivered on Feb. 12 in the Nunavut Court of Justice after a joint submission by both the Crown prosecutor and defence.

Presiding judge Paul Bychok, who expressed his preference for dangerous offender status, said his SA国际影视传媒渉ands are tiedSA国际影视传媒 and only reluctantly accepted the recommendation from the lawyers, which he called SA国际影视传媒渢oo lenient in all the circumstances...SA国际影视传媒

As per the terms of the joint submission, Komoartok will serve a two-year prison sentence accounting for time already served in jail (1,667 days), to be followed by five years of supervision after release. In addition, the Crown is pursuing a declaration of Komoartok as a long-term offender.

A long-term offender is eligible for parole after two years behind bars whereas a dangerous offender cannot be granted parole for at least seven years.

Komoartok is responsible for a lengthy list of violent offences dating back to 1998, including repeated sexual assaults. The February judgement also detailed that the offender had met the criteria for SA国际影视传媒渕oderately high-scoreSA国际影视传媒 on the psychopathy scale after being evaluated by a forensic psychiatrist, who provided SA国际影视传媒渁 detailed and current psychiatric snapshot of the risk that Mr. Komoartok will reoffend violently.SA国际影视传媒 The same testing also placed him at an 80 per cent chance of sexual recidivism. In general, the defendant is 95 per cent likely to reoffend, the expert found.

SA国际影视传媒淚n my view, the joint submission [between the prosecution and defence] fails to account for Mr. KomoartokSA国际影视传媒檚 inability or unwillingness for well over a decade to rehabilitate,SA国际影视传媒 Bychok stated.

SA国际影视传媒淜omoartok is a functionally untreated repeat violent offender, and there is every substantial likelihood that he will reoffend,SA国际影视传媒 the judge added. SA国际影视传媒淔urthermore, there is no evidence that Mr. Komoartok may be supervised adequately in the community. I expressed those concerns to counsel during the hearing. Crown counsel replied saying that the decision to seek a long-term offender designation had been taken after discussions involving the attorney general.SA国际影视传媒

Subsequently, Bychok imposed a jail sentence of a remaining 451.5 days after accounting for time Komoartok has already served in custody, according to the agreement. The defendantSA国际影视传媒檚 criminal record also includes a long history of violence in custody against both police and guards. However, if labelled a long-term offender, Komoartok will be subject to an SA国际影视传媒渋ndeterminateSA国际影视传媒 custodial sentence. It was not indicated how long a ruling on the long-term offender status might take, and if it might overlap with the defendantSA国际影视传媒檚 release. Komoartok has already been given mandatory DNA and firearm prohibition orders.

SA国际影视传媒淗e ought to be declared to be a dangerous offender subject to indeterminate incarceration. Nevertheless, my hands are tied. The law says that I must implement the joint recommendation despite my grave concerns,SA国际影视传媒 Bychok stated, making it clear how much he disagreed with the sentence. SA国际影视传媒淗e is a ticking time bomb with a short fuse.SA国际影视传媒



Kira Wronska Dorward

About the Author: Kira Wronska Dorward

I attended Trinity College as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, graduating in 2012 as a Specialist in History. In 2014 I successfully attained a Master of Arts in Modern History from UofT..
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